The future of healthcare includes innovation, CBU lecturer tells students

Riverside, Calif. (Feb. 22, 2017) – Technology will be critical to longevity and the vitality of life,
Sarah Thomas told a California Baptist University audience.

Thomas, who is the senior director of global innovation for Genesis Rehabilitation/Genesis
Healthcare, the largest post-acute care provider in the country, spoke on Feb. 21
as part of the College of Health Science’s Distinguished Lecture Series.

“We need to be visionaries as we enter the field of health care,” Thomas said. “In
this time of change, we have the opportunity to harness the energy, imagination and
creativity around us, to shape the new emerging world of healthcare.”

Thomas also works with Aging2.0, an organization that aims to accelerate innovation
in order to improve the lives of the elderly. Thomas offered examples on how technology
is contributing to patient care. For instance, Thomas said there is a sensor pill
that a patient swallows, which allows the doctor more insights into how that patient
is responding to prescribed medication.

Thomas encouraged the students that whatever environment they plan to work in, “to
experience it from the other side” in order to come up with ideas that lead to solutions.

“Interview people who are impacted in that setting, patients [and] everyone you have
to interact with,” Thomas said. “Look from their perspective. That empathetic perspective
is so important as you’re innovating.”

As part of her job, Thomas works with startup tech companies. Two new products she
mentioned included a spoon, with stabilizing and leveling handles, designed to help
people who have hand tremors and “powered clothing,” equipped with “electric muscles”
to support the torso, hips and legs.